Your "always" premise is faulty. Ronald Reagan and George Deukmejian were strong conservatives, who won statewide against liberal opponents.
How can McClintock win this?
By the recall passing and the getting more votes than any other candidate on the replacement ballot. Not a big mystery there.
That's a good point. I had forgotten about Deukmejian.
I guess this is my question - if Arnold stays in the race, does McClintock have a chance of winning? If McClintock stays in the race, does Arnold have a chance of winning?
I don't have a dog in this fight, but since Davis has led California's economy into the toilet, thereby depressing the national economy, I'd like someone other than Davis-Lite to win. :-)